Tobacco Leaves Part 8

DESECHITO. Good leaves but inferior to desecho.

LIBRA. Good leaves but small in size; the smaller top and bottom leaves.

INJURIADO. Injured leaves; root leaves soil stained and injured by insects.

_Terms used to denote color_

Note: The color term refers to the wrapper only. Many smokers judge the mildness or strength of a cigar by its outside color. This is a fallacy.

The wrapper const.i.tutes only about 2 per cent of the cigar weight.

Moreover color is no criterion of strength. The darkest cigar may be and usually is very mild. The color is due (1) to the soil, (2) to the age of the plant when cut, and (3) to the length of time of curing and fermentation. As a general rule the lighter the color the more inferior and immature is the tobacco. Cigar smokers should remember this.

CLARO or CLARA. Very light colored. The lightest shade known in selected leaves.

COLORADO. Red; medium in color.

COLORADO CLARA. Light Brown.

COLORADO MADURO. Dark Brown.

MADURO. Ripe; very dark, almost black in color.

_Terms used to denote size and shape_

CONCHAS. Sh.e.l.l; cigars so marked are 4-1/4" long.

CONCHA FINA. A first quality Concha.

CONCHA ESPECIAL. Finely finished and somewhat larger than a Concha.

LONDRES. London. Specially made for the London market and on account of its shape and length.

REGALIAS. A cigar of a finer grade of tobacco than is used in Londres or Conchas.

DAMAS. Ladies; small cigar about 3" long.

PANATELAS. A long thin cigar that has been heavily pressed.

NON PLUS ULTRA. A large handsome cigar made from the finest tobacco.

ESCEPCIONALES. Exceptionally large sized cigar.

OPERA. A small after-dinner cigar about 3-1/4" long.

PRINCESSES. Like the Opera, but thinner.

COQUETTAS. Flirt; 3-1/2" long.

BREVAS. A short, thick cigar.

n.o.bLESSE. The largest and most expensive cigars.

In addition to the above there is a mult.i.tude of trade names, such as Club House, Hoffman House, Rothschilds, Invincibles, Perfectos, etc., etc. Some of these terms merely denote particular brands put out by certain makers and to distinguish their products. The Spanish terms refer to the cigar itself and not to the maker. They may be used by any maker, and no longer refer to any standard of excellence.

(_See references end of Chapter XV_)

CHAPTER XII

CIGARS AND THEIR QUALITIES

QUALITIES OF CIGARS AND CIGAR LEAF. IMPORTED CIGARS. HAVANAS. DOMESTIC CIGARS.

CIGARS AND THEIR QUALITIES

A cigar consists essentially of three distinct parts: the body or inner part called the _filler_; the covering of the filler which is called the _binder_; and the outside finishing cover which is called the _wrapper_.

Cuban cigars, however, consist of filler and wrapper only.

Except in the case of cigars made in Cuba the wrapper leaf is usually of a different cla.s.s of tobacco from the rest of the cigar, as the qualities to be fulfilled by each part is different. The qualities required in a cigar must be viewed both from the smokers' and the manufacturers' standpoints and the leaf must be such as to conform to these qualities. Thus the smoker is concerned with the burning quality, the taste, flavor, aroma, color, general appearance and strength of the cigar. The manufacturer in addition to seeking leaf that will answer the smokers' requirements also has an eye to economy and requires the leaf to have qualities regarding size, weight, texture, etc. Therefore, in the best cigar leaf the following qualities are more or less essential: (1) good color, (2) fair body, (3) a continuous pleasant aroma, (4) fine texture combined with a certain toughness, (5) small ribs and veins, (6) good combustion so that it will hold fire for 4 or five minutes. The burning must be free and even with a white or whitish-brown ash which remains intact until cigar is three-fourths smoked, (7) good size of leaf, (8) must be elastic and souple, must not be brittle, (9) it must be free from spots and light in weight.

Some of these qualities are essential in filler leaf; some in wrapper leaf. Thus the _color_ of filler leaf does not matter; neither does the aroma of the wrapper the essential qualities of which are color, lightness and elasticity.

The cigars consumed in the U. S. are either (a) Imported or (b) Home Manufactured.

(_a_) IMPORTED CIGARS

The most important of the imported cigars are those that come from Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines.

Up to the time of the Civil War cigars were imported princ.i.p.ally from Germany and Cuba and the value was about 4-1/2 million dollars annually.

High import duties have, however, altered this and the number of imported cigars is nearly 90 per cent less than formerly. The value of the import has not, however, fallen so much, that is to say only the higher grades of cigars are imported. The value of cigars now imported does not exceed 3 million dollars annually and they are princ.i.p.ally Cuban.

CUBAN, OR SO-CALLED HAVANA, CIGARS

As the strictest laws are enforced in Cuba against the importation of tobacco, it follows that all genuine so-called Havana cigars are made of Cuban tobacco. The Havana Tobacco Co. controls about 260,000 acres of the best Cuban tobacco land and has 25 factories in the City of Havana. Here Havana cigars are made in all grades from those which can be bought at 2 for 25c to those which cost $2.00 each. The high priced are very limited in quality, being made from tobacco grown in specially favored districts.

The Province of Pinar del Rio produces 70 per cent of the whole Cuban crop, and includes the celebrated District of Vuelta Abajo in which the finest cigar tobacco in the world is grown; the Provinces of Havana and Santa Clara each produces about 13 per cent of the Cuban crop. Havana Partidio leaf is of very fine quality and is used princ.i.p.ally as wrappers of clear Havanas. Havana Remedios leaf comes from Santa Clara, has a high flavor, rather heavy body and is used mostly for fillers.

The very finest Havana cigars never leave Cuba, for the merchant keeps them for his own use. He is a smoker before a trader. The crop of the very best Vuelta Abajo tobacco is so small that not more than about 30,000 cigars can be made from it. These are kept for private purchasers and none go on the market. The finest Havanas are of an even tint of rich dark brown, free from all stains and spots, burning freely to a white or whitish-brown ash, and holding fire for 4 or 5 minutes. Altogether the District of Vuelta Abajo produces about one-quarter million bales of leaf annually and about one-tenth of this is high cla.s.s and produces up to 20 dollars per lb. on the spot.

As stated previously, Cuban cigars have no binder. They consist of filler and wrapper only and are all hand-made. The unique position which these cigars have held for so long is due not only to perfect curing and blending of the leaf, but also to the superior skill of the Cuban workmen who are the most expert cigarmakers and blenders in the world, and who in the best factories are allowed to take all the time they need in making the cigar. Some of these "Tabacqueros" have been making the same brand of cigar for 20 years or longer.

Of the total annual output of Cuban made cigars, England takes about 40 per cent, the U. S. about 25 per cent and Germany 13 per cent. In 1913, the U. S. imported 659,358 lbs. of cigars and cheroots from Cuba valued for $3,999,410.